Sacred traditions and biodiversity conservation in the forest montane region of Venda, South Africa

This study addresses the effectiveness of sacred sites and related cultural practices in the Duthuni-Mapate-Lwamondo region of Venda, South Africa, in conserving the native flora and fauna of the country. Biodiversity conservation is part of both western science and a national political agenda. To make this assessment, the study examines three aspects of sacred sites: the origin of the sacred practices (their cultural, religious and spiritual rationale), their institutional arrangement, and their development over time into their current ecological status. It further links these three aspects to the current conservation values of sites, and determines the future conservation potential of the sites based on the current and potential future practices.; The study draws on concepts and practice from cultural and political ecology in the social sciences, and landscape ecology and conservation biology in natural sciences. Data was collected using qualitative (focus groups, interviews, and participant observations) and quantitative methods (biodiversity measurement using species diversity and landscape-level indices).; The results show that sacred sites practices are rooted in religious beliefs and cultural norms. Their establishment and management are based on religious beliefs about life and death, and about the power of ancestral spirits to provide for their living kin. The study also demonstrates that sacred traditions are dynamic, and respond to socio-economic and political constraints. In this case the sacred culture has responded to new political systems in South Africa, from invasions by Singo and other Venda groups, to takeover by British and Boer colonial administrations. In response to these exogenous forces, sacred site owners have adopted practices that degraded the sites, specifically in regard to the loss of canopy cover and species. Despite this deterioration, sacred sites remain the biodiversity hotspots in the area. They serve as refugia for rare and endemic Montane Forest species. The study recommends that the biodiversity potential of sacred sites be enhanced through a participatory approach, which empowers local communities and build their capacity to maintain the sites.